Page 122 of A Curse On Black Lake
I frown. The Spirits are probably right in a lot of respects. I trust what my Grandma Lily said, but I feel like context is really important. The Spirits haven’t directly told me to look here, but it feels like the right thing for me to do. And if Grams were still here, she’d tell me to look until I found answers. The truth canbe buried in plain sight, or maybe there’s nothing to find. But if there is, then I have to wonder why it had to be buried at all?
“Here they are,” Killian says.
I look at the shelves full of organized parchment, a large-ledger sized book, topographical maps of the town, births and deaths, family trees, other small journals, and records.
Reaching for the town records first, I open the first page to where Black Lake was founded in 1854 by Thomas Black. It lists the founding families, and the Mayor and council, including the Sheriff.
The last names listed include my own, and Killian’s.
Killian clasps the back of my neck, reading over my shoulder. His strong, warm hand grounds me as we step deeper into the water of our ancestors.
The Spirts raise their volume, but I can’t make out what they're saying, and it’s forcing a dull throb at the base of my head. I wince and rub the spot, then Killian’s hand covers mine, massaging the tension from it.
I drop my hand and keep flipping through the records of who was mayor, council, and sheriff. It includes very little documentation that isn’t pertinent to the town. In other words, it lists that five thousand acres were purchased to encourage growth. In 1859, the same year Grandma Lily wrote what happened, the mayor is listed as Conrad Jameson, and his wife and children are named. Cassandra Jameson leaps out at me, but the records are like the year before it. Nothing has changed.
Snapping the book closed, I grab the population record. Starting from the beginning, the town was founded with eighty people, and in less than five years grew to almost a thousand despite fluctuations like death or moving further West.
“I don’t think you’re going to get much from that,” Killian says.
I reach for the birth and death records from 1854 to1860. Next to it is 1861 to 1865. The book has a simple layout. Names arelisted on the left in the first column. A birth date in the next, and then after it, a death date. Scanning through the other columns, it either has notes as to the cause of death, meaning old age, childbirth, or other more obscure reasons, like hangings. Some birth or death boxes are empty either because they weren’t born or died here.
Starting at the top, it looks like there was a baby born not long after the town was founded in 1854. More deaths than births follow, then there’s a flood of births, which coincides with the growth in population.
I trail my finger down the line, and Killian points to one. “Look at that, my great grandfather,” he says, pointing to Thomas Lennox. His death is listed, December 20th, 1881.
Going back up the line, we skipped a few years. I spot Jasper Radcliffe, and his death on June 17, 1859. Cause of death is listed as a gunshot to the chest.
Right below it is a birth, Jasper Radcliffe II, mother is listed as Cassandra Radcliffe. Exactly as my grandma Lily said. Following that same year of Jasper II birth, are many deaths, and very few births. Causes are listed as unknown, strange circumstances, or even murder. Very few are from simply old age like they were prior to Jasper’s death.
Words can be as powerful as actions.The Spirits say.
“Looks like a lot of people died in 1859. What we’re you hoping to get out of this?” Killian asks.
“I don’t know. Are there any old newspaper or letter accounts?” I ask him.
“I’m not sure. There are family trees you could check out,” Killian suggests.
“Why not,” I mutter and set the birth and death records back on the shelf and open the large family tree book.
“Set it down. It’s too big.”
I sit down in the middle of the aisle and open the large book, and Killian squeezes in behind me. The first page has the foundation of the town written, and all the families listed at the time. I spot Greer, Lennox, Jameson, Sawyer, and Radcliffe, along with many others, some I recognize, most I don’t, likely because they died off or moved on.
Following the Jameson line, Cassandra is listed with her siblings. Following the line of Cassandra, it looks like it was cut off, as in she was considered not part of the family anymore. “I realize her family cut her off, like Grandma Lily said, but that wouldn’t change lineage,” I mumble.
“Can you grab the birth and death records?” I ask Killian.
Still sitting, he reaches up and pulls it down. His strong bicep is in my face, and I catch myself staring for a moment before he hands it to me. Flipping through it again, I don’t see a death date listed for Cassandra, confirming she left Black Lake with the baby.
Going back to the family tree on the next page, the Radcliffes are listed, and I find Jasper. Off to the side in small print, and it’s so old it’s hard to see, but a line between Jasper and Cassandra Radcliffe connects them. Under Jasper’s name is the year of his death, and a child connecting both of them.
“This all tracks with what Grandma Lily said.”
Killian nods. “Flip the page. I want to trace the Lennox family.”
I do as he says, and we find it, tracing it down the lines until we get to his grandparents a few generations removed.
Killian gets up and grabs the other family tree books.
